The Vengeance Factor
'' |image= |series= |production=40273-157 |producer(s)= |story= |script=Sam Rolfe |director=Timothy Bond |imdbref=tt0708824 |guests=Lisa Wilcox as Yuta, Joey Aresco as Brull, Nancy Parsons as Marouk, Stephen Lee as Chorgan, Marc Lawrence as Volnoth, Elkanah J. Burns as Temarek, Majel Barrett as Computer Voice |previous_production=The Price |next_production=The Defector |episode=TNG C09 |airdate=20 November 1989 |previous_release=The Price |next_release=The Defector |story_date(s)=Stardate 43421.9 |previous_story=The Price |next_story=The Defector }} =Summary= The Enterprise travels to the planet Acamar III after detecting traces of Acamarian blood at a looted Federation outpost. Sovereign Marouk, the Acamarian leader, suggests that the looting was done by the Gatherers, descendants of Acamarian society a century ago that have turned to piracy to sustain themselves. Marouk initially suggests hunting them down with the help of Starfleet, but Captain Picard convinces Marouk to join him to seek a peaceful resolution, including ending the Gatherers' self-imposed exile. Marouk and her assistant, Yuta, arrive on the ship to help. Commander Riker finds Yuta attractive and tries to get to know her better, but Yuta finds herself unable to open up to him. The Enterprise crew makes contact with one band of Gatherers led by Brull, and offer negotiations. Brull negotiates with Marouk and Picard, and after hearing the offer, agrees to pass it on to the Gatherer leader, Chorgan. Meanwhile, Yuta meets alone with one of the older Gatherers and touches his cheek, causing the Gatherer to suffer a heart attack. As the man dies, Yuta asserts that she, as the last of her clan, Tralesta, will outlive the Lornak clan. The Gatherer's body is later found but initially assumed that death was by natural causes. However, later investigation by Dr. Crusher reveals that a fast-acting "micro-virus", targeted to attack a specific Acamarian DNA profile, was the cause. Dr. Crusher believes the virus was purposely genetically engineered, and that the death was a targeted murder. At Picard's request, Marouk has her government send data to the Enterprise to investigate the murder. The Enterprise meets with Chorgan's starship, and Picard, Marouk, and Yuta transport aboard to begin negotiations. At the same time, the Enterprise crew receives the database from Acamar, and find that fifty-three years earlier, another Gatherer suffered a similar heart attack - he too was from the Lornak clan, and a photographic record shows a woman appearing identical to Yuta. Finding the common clan, Riker discovers that Chorgan is of the Lornak clan, and transports over. He interrupts negotiations to prevent Yuta from serving Chorgan a drink, accusing her of the murder. Yuta explains she is the last of five survivors of the Tralesta clan that was wiped out by a Lornak attack, and has undergone genetic alterations to keep herself from aging, allowing her to seek out and murder the Lornak clan with the virus. Riker attempts to talk her out of her revenge at phaser-point, gradually increasing the yield, but she cannot break from her determination she built up over the last several decades. After pleading with her not to try again, she moves once more on Chorgan and Riker vaporizes her with his phaser. The negotiations are successful and a truce is called between the two sides; at the conclusion, the Enterprise is assigned a routine survey mission through the now-peaceful sector. Searching for his First Officer, Picard finds a depressed Riker in Ten-Forward, and informs him that they'll be taking on medical supplies at the next star base, and he intends to extend shore leave to anyone who wants it. Riker says he'll pass it along to the crew. =Errors and Explanations= Plot Oversights # Riker resorting to vaporising Yuta instead of grabbing her. There wasn't enough time to grab her before she could compleate her attack, as the gap between her and Chorgan was much smaller that the gap between her and Riker. Equipment Oddities # The computer not providing clan affiliation for members of Marouk's delegation belonging to the Tralesta clan, despite providing this information for three other individuals. Records for Tralesta members could have been removed when Yuta's fellow clan members were killed, as part of her revenge mission. # The Away Team using phasers set to level 7 to vaporise the metal around the ambush site, by heating it to 2,314 degrees, but Riker having to increase the power level of his phaser, when Yuta survived multiple phaser blasts at the end of the episode. Riker may have reduced the power level on the phaser between the two events. Continuity and Production Problems # Worf apparently moving from the port side of the Tactical Station to the starboard side when the shot changes. Worf may have adjusted his position. Internet Movie Database Plot holes # When commander Riker uses his phaser to defend Chorgan, he should easily be able to stun Yutan or simply physically stop her. Vaporising (killing) her makes no sense, also being a clear violation of the Prime Directive. She could just as well have been beamed to the Enterprise. She may be been able to complete her attack before the transport could be completed.'IMDB entry tt0708824 Nit Central # ''Keith Alan Morgan (Kmorgan) on Sunday, July 22, 2001 - 2:15 am: Worf moves some material then says the reactor is missing, but isn't the reactor that big piece of machinery that they recover on Gamma Hromi II? Shouldn't Worf have noticed the reactor was missing before he moved the stuff? '''He had to move the material out of the way to make sure the reactor wasn't being hidden. # Marouk certainly uses an odd word choice. When talking to Picard about the Gatherer problem she says, "With the Starfleet's help..." Shouldn't she have said 'the Federation's' instead, or was she subtly asking Picard to fly into Gatherer territory with phasers and photon torpedoes blazing? She's probably expecting Starfleet to provide additional protection during any peace talks. Zul on Friday, August 16, 2002 - 9:17 pm: Not really an odd word choice, the meaning of the statement is clear, she wanted Picard's help. Johnny on Tuesday, September 25, 2007 - 4:06 pm: Um...did you not pay attention? Picard's response was "Hunting them down is not what I am suggesting"...obviously she did mean "with STARFLEET's help..." # In Encounter at Farpoint, it was revealed that Data's eyes are almost as good as Geordi's VISOR. In The Schizoid Man, Dr. Ira Graves, in Data's body, said that Data's ears, "Are better than an average dog." In this episode, however, Worf sniffs the Gatherers seconds before the attack starts. So why didn't Data hear or see them first? The Gatherers may have the ability to mask their appearance and the sound of their movements, but not their aroma. # Yuta's life has been devoted to tracking down and killing members of the clan Lornack. She knows that all the surviving members of this clan are among the Gatherers. So why has she been wasting her time serving as Marouk's cook instead of getting on a spaceship and finding the Gatherers? She's needs Marouk's presence to bring the gatherers together in one place. # At the end the Enterprise has to deliver medical supplies to the Alpha Leonis system. Alpha Leonis is also called Regulus, which is the preferred Star Trek way of referring to this star, so why didn't Picard call it Regulus. Alpha Loenis may be an official alternative name. # LUIGI NOVI on Friday, September 13, 2002 - 10:49 pm: After the Gatherers first ambush Riker, Worf, Data and Geordi in Act 1, Worf, peering out from behind some equipment, fires at the Gatherers in several pulsed phaser shots instead of one continuous one, as usual. Why is this? More likely Worf is repeatedly pressing the trigger button. # Why does Riker tell Chorgan to stand still when he tries to stop Yuta from killing him at the end of the episode? So Chorgan can make himself an easier target for Yuta?? Yuta is still far enough away form Chorgan for Chorgan to make a break for it, and since the virus Yuta carries will not harm Marouk or Picard, why doesn’t Picard simply leap over the table at Yuta, or grab Chorgan and step between him and Yuta, so that Yuta can’t touch him? If Chorgan moves away, Yuta would become frustrated, increasing the risk of her lashing out at anyone who happens to be in the way. # Sophie on Wednesday, October 23, 2002 - 4:23 am: I wondered why the Gatherer leader was so insulting about Wesley's age. He has a son the same age, and in a harsh environment such as the Gatherers have, kids tend to grow up fast. He probably regards Wes as a child in the body of a man. # Pentalarc on Friday, January 30, 2004 - 7:56 pm: Is it me, or does it seem a bit odd that Brull is able to act the way he does on the Enterprise, and no one stops him? He steals someone's drink (true, drinks are apparently free in Ten Forward, but it's still rude), grabs a PADD out of Wesley's hand, and is generally rude, threatening, and obnoxious to everyone around him. Doesn't Ten Forward have bouncers? THat sort of behaivior would get him kicked out of most bars I know of, much less Ten Forward on the civilized Enterprise. Picard dosn't want to risk antagonising Brull, as that would jepodise the reconciliation mission. =Sources= Category:Episodes Category:The Next Generation